, Columnist
Americans Are Shedding Debt, Will They Spend?
U.S. consumers are getting out from under their debt burden, but the country still has a lot of delevering to do.
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The gigantic debt burden left over from the financial crisis has been one of the biggest obstacles to economic recovery. The latest data from the Federal Reserve suggest that U.S. consumers might finally be getting out from under it.
The aggregate assets of U.S. households stood at $88.4 trillion as of June 30, up from $69.7 trillion in the darkest days of 2009, according to the Fed's financial accounts report. Those assets are worth 6.5 times what households -- a category that includes hedge funds, private equity firms and nonprofit organizations -- owe on mortgages, credit cards and other forms of debt. The ratio of assets to liabilities is the highest since early 2002.